Background of Conductive Material by Ionic Conduction
One of the ultimate objects of the research and development of electronically conductive polymeric materials is to produce "a material which has light weight, has an electric conductivity like metals, is stable, and can be easily processed or fabricated".
In general, a method of imparting an electric conductivity to a polymeric material is classified into
(1) a method of structurally designing at the molecular level, such as (A) the provision of electronic conduction and (B) the provision of ionic conduction,
(2) a method by metallizing, such as (A) chemical plating, (B) vapor deposition, and (C) the utilization of polymer-metal salt complexes, and
(3) a method by blending metal fibers or powders with a polymer.
In regard to conductive polymers such as polyacetylene, polypyrrole, polythiophene, polyaniline, etc., belonging to the polymeric materials by method (1)-(A) described above, various goals such as (a) high electronic conduction (b) form-keeping property, (c) mechanical strength as a practically usable material, (d) safety and stability, and (e) cost and economy have not yet been achieved.
On the other hand, electrically conductive materials by the ionic conduction in method (1)-(B) described above have recently been developed for practical uses, such as batteries, etc., by using the concept of polymer aggregates and polyelectrolytes since P. V. Wright et al. in 1975 reported that a complex of polyether and an alkali metal showed electric conductivity.
However, the aforesaid development has not yet been practiced in industry. On the other hand, the present invention provides a practically usable polymeric material having a good ionic conduction by molecularly designing an ionic-conductive material into a polymeric sticking material.